Storm Harvey: 1,000 rescued as Houston hit by 'catastrophic floods'

More than 1,000 people have been rescued in flooded parts of Houston, as Tropical Storm Harvey continues to batter Texas with heavy rains. There is a "Flash flood emergency" across the Houston Metro area, with travel near impossible, the National Weather Service says. "Epic catastrophic flooding" occurred in the Houston and Galveston areas overnight, the National Weather Service says, with heavy rains continuing. Travel in the Houston area "Is severely hampered if not impossible", it said, advising people to move to higher ground amid "An extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation". The storm is the strongest to hit the US since Charley in August 2004 and the most powerful to hit Texas since Hurricane Carla in 1961, which killed 34 people, according to the Houston Chronicle.